This is not a political blog, and this is not a political post, so please don’t reply about which candidate you believe is best or which party you think is ruining the country, or any of that, because I will delete those kind of comments.

But there’s something we all need to understand. No matter who wins or loses in today’s election, no matter which party controls the House and Senate, no matter if you are happy or outraged with the results of the voting, the sun will come out tomorrow.

I say this because I have heard from at least four or five people who have told me they are holding off on making any travel plans for the winter until after the election because they just don’t know what’s going to happen. I can tell you what’s going to happen – somebody’s going to get elected and a whole bunch of people are going to be happy, and a whole bunch of other people are going to be ticked off. So what?

No matter who wins or loses, nobody is going to close down the highways. They’re not going to set up border checkpoints at state lines. You will still be able to buy fuel. And your favorite RV parks will still be open and doing business, just like they were last week, and last month, and last year. And just like they will be next week, and next month, and next year.

We traveled the country fulltime in an RV for over 17 years and I have seen this happen every election year. People start freaking out because of politics. We have traveled from one end of this great nation of ours to the other, ocean to ocean and border to border, and it didn’t really matter if a Democrat or Republican was in office. Trust me, the nice folks at Flying J will be very happy to let you fill up your fuel tank no matter who you voted for.

Let’s be honest. Political rhetoric aside, do you really think somebody’s going to tell you that you can’t travel come Wednesday morning, or that a revolution will start and it won’t be safe to do so? Neither the Donald nor Hillary really care if you spend your winter in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, or soaking up the sunshine in one of the snowbird roosts in Yuma, Arizona, or enjoying the beaches here in Florida.

I think some folks just need something to worry about or they aren’t happy. Back when we were holding our Gypsy Journal rallies, I was always amazed at how many people told us they couldn’t come to our Spring rally in Arizona because they had to return home to Minnesota or Ohio or some other cold, snowy place in time to file their income taxes. More than once I suggested that they do them wherever they were, which was definitely going to be warmer and nicer than where they came from. And more than once people said, “No, I have to mail them from my home address, otherwise it raises red flags with the IRS.”

Yes, I’m certain some Poindexter clerk somewhere in an office in Washington, DC, or Ogden, Utah, or wherever they process tax returns, is sitting there looking at millions of envelopes to make sure the postmark matches the address on the 1040 form.

So come on people, stop worrying over nothing. Cast your vote, celebrate or complain about the results, and get on with life. There’s a great big country out here to explore in your RV, so stop pulling your hair out about things that aren’t going to happen anyhow and enjoy life. Each of us comes with an expiration date, and when that day rolls around I don’t think any of you are going to be sitting around going, “Damn, if I could have just gotten five more people to vote for my candidate way back in 2016 I could rest in peace!”

Thought For The Day – It has been said that we humans use only 10% of our brain. Imagine the mess we’d be in if we used all of it.

Amen!! Seven years ago we knew we wanted to full time but had many concerns. Not political, but budget, the unknown, family telling us we were crazy etc. etc. etc. Before purchasing our coach we attended a Life on Wheels seminar and met several rver’s, including you and Terri. We took away so much good practical information but the best of all was a similar message as your post today. In the last 7 sevens, several times we have looked at each other and said “how sad it would have been if we would have let our fears and concerns stop us from pursuing this dream”. Thanks for the post…beautifully written and a message we all need to hear occasionally.

Yes, very well said. I have heard the craziest statements from people this election, from a “picture” showing Hillary meeting with Osama bin Laden or the notion that she will “take away our guns” OR that Donald is hiding many many affairs. These national election seasons should be shortened to a 6 month period, that’s all we can stand.

Nick usually I agree with almost everything you have to say but about mailing returns from someplace other than your home, we moved from Texas to Missouri several years ago. We picked up our tax returns on our way out of town several days before the deadline to file. After we had a chance to look them over we were in Missouri. We signed them and mailed off the Federal return. Since we do not pay taxes in Texas there was not a state return. Several months later we received a notice from the Missouri state tax office wondering where our state return was. They knew that a Federal return had been mailed to the IRS from Missouri. Took a bit to convince them we did not live in Missouri during that taxable year!

Well said, Nick. I cannot remember the last time I filed a paper return and I seriously doubt it matters which state my computer is occupying when I efile my return. I would eVote if it was possible but the best alternative is absentee voting and that is what I did this year. If I can avoid doing any business transaction with an actual person I do it because transactions get more complicated when dealing with a human. Your stranger emails seem to come from the humans I seek to avoid. Hope you are enjoying Terra Mar Village and the area.

Karen, Missouri didn’t know you mailed the Federal return from Missouri, they knew you filed a Missouri return in the previous year. That is what triggered the letter. We see them all the time. Nick’s point is stay warm and run your life like you want it. Don’t let some misperception cause you to miss something important. Grandkids are important, weddings are important, what state you mail your tax forms from is not. Worrying about what states the Country of Mexico might invade and occupy as a protest to the election results, or whether global warming will result in the complete flooding of the state of Florida this year or next just isn’t a good use of your brain cells nor should they alter your travel plans. Now they can result in some very interesting cocktail hour conversations, but that’s a different subject. Please do not let worrying about things that are not going to happen have a negative affect on your life. Unless you are planning on living to 200, life is just too short.